WALKING THOUSANDS OF MILES TO PROTECT THE EARTH

Walking Thousands Of Miles To Protect The Earth

Meet Earth Rights Activist Dee Kyne – Founder of ‘One Love One Step Walking’ and ‘Earth Rights Walking’ – who is walking thousands of miles to protect the earth and to raise awareness

Dee Kyne is a visionary and activist on many levels: she quit her job in the name of raising awareness and leading other people into her vision of protecting the Earth. She advocates for a spiritual connection to the Earth, which she personally embodies by walking. Her organization, One Love One Step Walking, is meant to create a deeper awareness of our relationship with the planet that houses us.

Dee has used her privilege, connections, good health, and endless passion and energy to take a stand – or better yet, a walk – for something she believes in.She is walking thousands of miles to protect the earth and to raise awareness to the earth’s rights.

Read about Dee Kyne’s Mission:

What prompted me to quit my job and start walking? Did I ever feel any trepidation?

It seemed the only thing I could do. I was good friends with the indomitable Polly Higgins, one of the key environmental lawyers working to bring in a law to End Ecocide on Earth. This game-changing law was and still is to be enshrined at the UN. As we became aligned, I was called to walk. I walked and talked over 6000 miles for a year.

For me, when the Earth called, I answered. I did, on occasion, think, “Am I mad to do this?” I left two very senior positions as a global CEO. I knew deep inside this is the only thing I must do.

Along the way, I learned something particularly unexpected: That people are endlessly kind and connected. When we meet each other one on one, the mighty and the small are all extraordinary. This gives me deep hope for all of us. Hence the “awakening” times we live in. As those who are awake connect, they drop the unnecessary facades and speak and act directly with each other.

Walking is a way to be connected to the planet.

Why walking in particular, as opposed to other ways of being in nature or physical activity? I am a meditator, which is a deeply satisfying practice. But for me, walking is truly my meditation. It gives one the opportunity to not only ground and slow down, but also to feel the magnetic resonance of the Earth. Then, when meeting others, I carry this into all the connections made. The freedom of walking at a slow pace deeply impacts the way we interact with each other. I believe we meet our better selves on the road.

Bringing Awareness to ‘Ridge to Reef’ in Jamaica

Ridge to Reef, put simply, is the connection of all things. It is the understanding that what we do on the mountaintops will, through the rivers and the rains, end up in the sea. Therefore, we have to be great stewards.

I walked with 20 local Jamaicans for six weeks around the edge of Jamaica in 2018 to put an end to single-use plastics and link the 17 fish sanctuaries monitoring the regrowth of coastal ecosystems. The outcome was the introduction of a law to end single-use plastic in Jamaica, our first big win!

How can people overcome hopelessness or depression about our global crisis, and be inspired to activate?

Often the very best of people become overwhelmed with the task ahead. In Jamaica, people, in general, face great difficulty making a living and having their voices heard. This is a global challenge in many emerging economies where corruption is rife, and the normal is denial and fear. Yet the people of Jamaica are some of the heartiest people I have ever met, with depths of love that they are not afraid to show and share. The trick is to never give up and to keep building the bonds so that people can feel the importance of their small actions.

Walking Portugal and Jamaica in 2020

Next year, we will have an “End Ecocide” Walk in Portugal, and we will open the One Love One Step Pilgrimage (long-distance trail) for equal rights and justice in Jamaica. I am always in exploration. I stand beside the mission to create MAPS and share this tirelessly.

Life is such a grand exploration. I only hope I have enough of this one to keep following my passions and living to my highest excitement.

Visionary Dee Kyne is an award-winning serial social entrepreneur who has worked throughout the world in a number of sectors at leadership levels, including health, the environment, and the arts. Dee became an Earth Rights Walker four years ago and has walked 6000 miles to support a law to end “ecocide.”